Venue Review: Wake Forest Listening Room
Jul. 24th, 2024 07:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
just_cydWhat do you get when you combine a book store, a cafe, a yarn shop, and a community space offering live music and author events? Heaven. You also get the Wake Forest Listening Room (WFLR).
Page 158 Books is modest-sized independent book shop in the middle of a strip mall in Wake Forest, NC. Ample parking, friendly staff, nice selection, and more progressive than Wake Forest is known to be. The shop has two storefronts/doors, and the books spill over into the right side, but during the week most of the space is taken up by the Lemon Tree Cafe. Up front on this side, taking up about 12x12' is the Knotty Sheep, with yarn and books and notions (Blue Q bags!). There's a cozy seating area by the front window, and when it's not set up for live music, it's a lovely, eclectic space.
Once, sometimes twice a week, the cafe seating gets moved out, a stage and backdrop go in, and an assortment of chairs fill the space. Then it's lights, amps, music! The acoustics are great considering the boxy interior - I imagine all those books help dampen the echo. They can comfortably cram in about 210 people without angering the fire marshall, but not every show is that large. The cafe serves wine, and shareable snacks can be ordered in advance for pickup, but I've yet to see anyone take advantage of that.
In terms of accessibility, it's a pretty good setup. ample parking in a strip-mall lot, curb cuts to get up to the sidewalk, and the usual doorway transitions, although someone would need to hold the door for you. a sold-out show might be hard to navigate in a power chair, but everyone there is extremely friendly and accommodating, and I am pretty sure they'd offer help before you could ask. There are two gender-neutral restrooms, and the one I've used was large enough to maneuver in easily.
10/10, will rock again.
Page 158 Books is modest-sized independent book shop in the middle of a strip mall in Wake Forest, NC. Ample parking, friendly staff, nice selection, and more progressive than Wake Forest is known to be. The shop has two storefronts/doors, and the books spill over into the right side, but during the week most of the space is taken up by the Lemon Tree Cafe. Up front on this side, taking up about 12x12' is the Knotty Sheep, with yarn and books and notions (Blue Q bags!). There's a cozy seating area by the front window, and when it's not set up for live music, it's a lovely, eclectic space.
Once, sometimes twice a week, the cafe seating gets moved out, a stage and backdrop go in, and an assortment of chairs fill the space. Then it's lights, amps, music! The acoustics are great considering the boxy interior - I imagine all those books help dampen the echo. They can comfortably cram in about 210 people without angering the fire marshall, but not every show is that large. The cafe serves wine, and shareable snacks can be ordered in advance for pickup, but I've yet to see anyone take advantage of that.
In terms of accessibility, it's a pretty good setup. ample parking in a strip-mall lot, curb cuts to get up to the sidewalk, and the usual doorway transitions, although someone would need to hold the door for you. a sold-out show might be hard to navigate in a power chair, but everyone there is extremely friendly and accommodating, and I am pretty sure they'd offer help before you could ask. There are two gender-neutral restrooms, and the one I've used was large enough to maneuver in easily.
10/10, will rock again.
